--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's impossible to have a coin with only…" description: "\"It's impossible to have a coin with only one side. You can't have heads without tails. Innovation is like that. Initiative is like that. Art is like th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/seth-godin-152_art_it-s-impossible-to-have-a-coin-with-only_1404177.jpg" --- # It's impossible to have a coin with only one side. You… ![“It's impossible to have a coin with only one side. You can't have heads without tails. Innovation is like that. Initiative is like that. Art is like that. You can't have success unless you're prepared to have failure. As soon as you say, 'failure is not an option,' you've just said, 'innovation is…” quote by Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/seth-godin-152_art_it-s-impossible-to-have-a-coin-with-only_1404177.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/seth-godin-152_art_it-s-impossible-to-have-a-coin-with-only_1404177.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/seth-godin-152_art_it-s-impossible-to-have-a-coin-with-only_1404177.jpg) > “It's impossible to have a coin with only one side. You can't have heads without tails. Innovation is like that. Initiative is like that. Art is like that. You can't have success unless you're prepared to have failure. As soon as you say, 'failure is not an option,' you've just said, 'innovation is not an option.'” [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Success requires embracing failure; without risk, innovation and initiative cannot exist. **In simple terms:** Failure is necessary for success. Key Takeaway Accept risk to innovate. Themes risk failure innovation initiative art Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - entrepreneurship - product development - creative projects - personal growth Key Concepts growth mindset creative paradox dualism Questions to Reflect On - How can you reframe failure as a learning tool? - What steps can you take to balance risk and safety? A Different Perspective Risk aversion can stifle progress and lead to missed opportunities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-is/) [Coin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coin/) [Coins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coins/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Failure is not an option](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure-is-not-an-option/) [Impossible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossible/) [Impossible Coin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossible-coin-4929429/) [Initiative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/initiative/) [Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation/) [Innovation Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation-like-511286/) [Innovation Option](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation-option-4929427/) [Prepared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prepared/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Sides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sides/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Tails](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tails/) [Tails Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tails-innovation-4929428/) ## Related quotes > [If failure is not an option, then neither is success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/if-failure-is-not-an-option-then-neither-is-success/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [If failure is not an option, neither is success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/if-failure-is-not-an-option-neither-is-success/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [If failure is not an option, neither is success. Innovation is just repeated failure till you come up with something that works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/if-failure-is-not-an-option-neither-is-success-innovation-is-just/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Anyone who says failure is not an option has also ruled out innovation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/anyone-who-says-failure-is-not-an-option-has-also-ruled-out-innovation/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [We are the number one economy in the world, and we ought to continue to pursue those kinds of policies that ensure that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-evans/we-are-the-number-one-economy-in-the-world-and-we-ought-to-continue/) [Donald Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-evans/) > [Kaizen is like a hotbed that nurtures small and ongoing changes, while innovation is like magma that appears in abrupt eruptions from time to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaaki-imai/kaizen-is-like-a-hotbed-that-nurtures-small-and-ongoing-changes-while/) [Masaaki Imai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaaki-imai/) > [Software innovation, like almost every other kind of innovation, requires the ability to collaborate and share ideas with other people, and to sit down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/software-innovation-like-almost-every-other-kind-of-innovation/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Innovation, like creativity, is an amorphous concept. It's the holy grail of business, but achieving it - even merely explaining it - is lightning-in-a-bottle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-lashinsky/innovation-like-creativity-is-an-amorphous-concept-it-s-the-holy/) [Adam Lashinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-lashinsky/) > [Innovation is like looking for pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. You have to find a lot of pieces that don't match to find the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-conard/innovation-is-like-looking-for-pieces-in-a-jigsaw-puzzle-you-have-to/) [Edward Conard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-conard/) > [“An invention like the steam engine or computer comes along and we reap economic benefits from it. Those benefits start small while the technology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/an-invention-like-the-steam-engine-or-computer-comes-along-and-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There's so much innovation going on, and there are lots of people funding that innovation, but there's very little innovation on that infrastructure for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naval-ravikant/there-s-so-much-innovation-going-on-and-there-are-lots-of-people/) [Naval Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naval-ravikant/) > [“Trying and failing is still getting you one step closer to success than what doing nothing does. You don’t fail; you only learn what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-coron/trying-and-failing-is-still-getting-you-one-step-closer-to-success/) [Jeanette Coron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-coron/) > [This idea that failure is not an option: It makes failure invisible, inconceivable and inevitable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/this-idea-that-failure-is-not-an-option-it-makes-failure-invisible/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [The man without a chin, no stamina, dead man, broken man, whatever. On your way to the top, you always get some criticism. Criticism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wladimir-klitschko/the-man-without-a-chin-no-stamina-dead-man-broken-man-whatever-on/) [Wladimir Klitschko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wladimir-klitschko/) > [“FINAO. My word for my companies. Failure Is Not An Option.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziad-k-abdelnour/finao-my-word-for-my-companies-failure-is-not-an-option/) [Ziad K. Abdelnour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziad-k-abdelnour/) ## More by Seth Godin > [“You weren't born to be a cog in the giant industrial machine. You were trained to become a cog. There's an alternative available to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/you-weren-t-born-to-be-a-cog-in-the-giant-industrial-machine-you-were/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Forgive yourself for not being the richest, the thinnest, the tallest, the one with the best hair. Forgive yourself for not being the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/forgive-yourself-for-not-being-the-richest-the-thinnest-the-tallest/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The easier it is to quantify, the less it's worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-easier-it-is-to-quantify-the-less-it-s-worth/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Developing expertise or assets that are not easily copied is essential; otherwise you're just a middleman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/developing-expertise-or-assets-that-are-not-easily-copied-is/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Leadership is a choice. It's the choice not to do nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/leadership-is-a-choice-it-s-the-choice-not-to-do-nothing/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The next thing you do today will be the most important thing on your agenda, because, after all, you're doing it next. Well, perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-next-thing-you-do-today-will-be-the-most-important-thing-on-your/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [I look at Starbucks, Howard Schultz has made many brilliant decisions, and one of the things that they did was they invented the third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/i-look-at-starbucks-howard-schultz-has-made-many-brilliant-decisions/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Be relentlessly generous, without focusing on when it will come back to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/be-relentlessly-generous-without-focusing-on-when-it-will-come-back/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The public square is more public than ever, but minds are rarely changed in 140 character bursts and by selfies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-public-square-is-more-public-than-ever-but-minds-are-rarely/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Making an average pitch to average people, or having an average gala for average people isn't going to scale anymore. You've got to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/making-an-average-pitch-to-average-people-or-having-an-average-gala/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Our job is to make change. Our job is to connect to people, to interact with them in a way that leaves them better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/our-job-is-to-make-change-our-job-is-to-connect-to-people-to-interact/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [“Life is actually far better than it is in the movies. And it takes longer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/life-is-actually-far-better-than-it-is-in-the-movies-and-it-takes/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [I don't think there's a shortage of remarkable ideas. I think your business has plenty of great opportunities to do great things. Nope, what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-shortage-of-remarkable-ideas-i-think-your/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The mirror we hold up to the person next to us is one of the most important pictures she will ever see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-mirror-we-hold-up-to-the-person-next-to-us-is-one-of-the-most/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [If you're a marketer who doesn't know how to invent, design, influence, adapt, and ultimately discard products, then you're no longer a marketer. You're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/if-you-re-a-marketer-who-doesn-t-know-how-to-invent-design-influence/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) [Explore all 1,110 Seth Godin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's impossible to have a coin with only one side. You can't have heads without tails. Innovation is like that. Initiative is like that. Art is like that. You can't have success unless you're prepared to have failure. As soon as you say, 'failure is not an option,' you've just said, 'innovation is not an option.'", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Godin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/it-s-impossible-to-have-a-coin-with-only-one-side-you-can-t-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/it-s-impossible-to-have-a-coin-with-only-one-side-you-can-t-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/seth-godin-152_art_it-s-impossible-to-have-a-coin-with-only_1404177.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/seth-godin-152_art_it-s-impossible-to-have-a-coin-with-only_1404177.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/seth-godin-152_art_it-s-impossible-to-have-a-coin-with-only_1404177.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's impossible to have a coin with only one side. You can't have heads without tails. Innovation is like…” — Seth Godin", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Seth Godin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It's impossible to have a coin...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/it-s-impossible-to-have-a-coin-with-only-one-side-you-can-t-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/it-s-impossible-to-have-a-coin-with-only-one-side-you-can-t-have/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```